( August 4th to August 13th, 2015)

Ignited(Unclaimed 2) by Laurie Wetzel

Synopsis

After surviving an attack from a demon that killed her friend, Maddy Page thought the worst was over.

It’s not.

Word is spreading through the supernatural world about Maddy, the mortal girl with rare gifts. Some want to use her powers; others want to destroy her. One wants to protect her—her boyfriend, an angel named MJ.

MJ knows that the demon that attacked Maddy was sent to collect her by someone very powerful. Someone he has tried and failed to stop before. MJ can’t beat him, but he will do whatever it takes to keep Maddy safe, even if it means turning his back on his own kind.

Teasers

1)

The air around us stills. The sounds from the water and animals disappear. It’s as if nature is curious about the effects an immortal kissing a … well, whatever I am … will have on its delicate balance.

2)

Don’t forget—you’re not just any mortal. You stopped me when I made the worst mistake of my life and tried to attack you. You fought off an abnormally skilled demon and saved your sister. As horrified as I am that you had to do that, I’m also glad you can defend yourself.

3)

I’m done.

I’m done being a pawn in their game.

I’m done being her puppet.

I’m done being kept in the dark.

Excerpt 1

CHAPTER 2

MJ

Maddy’s beautiful mouth falls as she gasps.

“I–I don’t know if I can.”

“Try. That’s all I’m asking.”

“No, it’s not. You don’t know what you’re asking.

That dream … it’s different. I can’t—I can’t explain it.

It’s just—”

Tears line her eyes. Moisture fills the air around us,

ready and waiting to fall as rain the moment that teardrop

breaks free. I will not be the reason behind her pain. I pull

her into me, wrapping my arms around her.

“Hey. It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. I know you

were unconscious and had no control over anything that

happened to you. I just wanted to understand what you

saw and how you saw it. We don’t need to try it. It’s fine.

Nothing is more important to me than you.”

For several moments, she’s silent in my arms. But her

emotions are so chaotic, my essence can barely keep up.

Just as swiftly, though, her emotions settle inside her and

calmness fills the air around us. She’s made her decision.

We’re done for the day. I’m not disappointed or upset by

this. I will never force her to do anything she doesn’t want

to do. I respect her choice.

“If we do this,” she begins, “and it does work,

what then?”

I arch a brow, caught off guard by her question.

Does this mean she’s considering it? I choose my next

words carefully, not wanting to sway her one way or

the other. “We could practice—work on strengthening

this ability—”

“No. I mean, what will you do if this works and you

relive that day all over again?”

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. Her words

sink in, leaving their mark on my soul. I’ve battled millions

of demons and secretly fought against the leader of

the Fallen. Not once did anyone worry for me. Of course

she would.

Me, I hadn’t thought it through that far. If she could

somehow recreate that day and make it feel just as real

as her bridge does … I don’t know what I’d do. It’s not

something I can predict, having never experienced or even

contemplated something like this before. Any other dream

or any other day wouldn’t matter as much, but this is different—

just as she said. It’s the day I failed everyone.

I take an unnecessary breath to push back my thoughts

before I say, “I’ve spent my afterlife trying to atone for

the mistakes I made that day. Perhaps seeing it from

an outsider’s perspective, I could put my own personal

‘demons’ to rest.”

She leans back, and I’m once again lost in the deep

green forest of her eyes. “Okay. I’ll try. But I can’t guarantee

it will work.”

Gently, I place my hand on her cheek—my essence

strengthens inside her. I search out her doubts, trying to

give her the reassurance she needs. Instead I find her heart

racing and her muscles tightening. Even though I can’t read

her mind, I don’t need to. I’ve been matching her emotions

to the thoughts she’s shared, trying to put them together so

I can figure her out and not be so clueless. She isn’t doubting

herself. She’s afraid.

“It’s okay,” I say. “If it works, we’ll be together. And

besides, we know how this works, right? One touch sends

us there. The next one sends us back. You’ll be safe. I’ll be

fine. I promise.”

Her eyes narrow, searching me as she mulls it over for

a moment. Then she nods. “Okay.”

I nod back. “Would it help you concentrate on sending

us if I described the scene to you?”

She shudders. “No. I doubt I’ll ever forget it. I’ll try to

bring us to the part where you met the Village Girl—”

“Lifa. And what do you mean, ‘try’?”

“This is different than the bridge. The bridge is a

real, physical place. This was a dream—a nightmare of

a dream—that doesn’t really exist. Not anymore. Plus,

getting there is only part of the problem. There was a lot

going on in the village. I wouldn’t want us to land in a

pile of rubble or in a fire or in front of people. I don’t even

know if they can see us.”

“It was a dream, Maddy. A vision. It may have felt real,

but it wasn’t. There’s nothing to fear by going back into it.

Dreams can’t hurt you.”

She huffs and shakes her head in disbelief.

“Do you think I would willingly put you at risk?”

For a moment, I think she’s going to argue, then she

bites her lip and turns away. I close the small gap between

us, wrapping my arms around her. My essence feeds off the

excitement building inside her. Within a second, it returns

to me. The outside world falls away, and I’m once again lost

in the dense forest of her emerald-green eyes. I lean down.

Her warm breath kisses my lips—mine are dry, itching to

touch hers.

“You can do this, Maddy. I believe in you.”

Her eyes widen, and then she shuts them.

***

Darkness descends on me—my body twists and

tightens as if it were being sent through a clothes wringer.

Suddenly the feelings vanish. The darkness fades, and I

open my eyes. Thick black smoke covers the sky. Screams

echo on the wind, which carries the scent I’ve tried to forget.

The smell is my people burning.

I reach for my sword and feel nothing but the coarse

fabric of my jeans.

“MJ!” a voice cries out. I follow the sound to my

Maddy crouching behind a broken wooden cart fifteen feet

in front of me.

I’m torn between rushing to her and rushing to help

my people. There is nothing I can do for them, though.

They all died. This is just a recreation existing in an alternate

plane, like the version of the bridge she sends us to,

but it’s more lifelike than any dream.

Maddy waves her hand, motioning for me to come to

her. If I don’t, it’s just a matter of time before she comes to

me. Besides, her cart offers more protection, even though it

looks as if it might fall apart at any moment. I rush to her

side, taking care not to touch her.

“We didn’t stay together,” she says.

I think back to all the times she’s taken us to the

bridge. No matter what our original position was, it would

be different when we arrived on the bridge. We could be

standing, sitting, or lying down. The distance between

us could be anywhere from a few inches to several feet.

The only thing that remained consistent was that we were

never touching there.

“Maybe that’s just how it works,” I reply. “Or maybe

that will change once you can control it more.”

A thud sounds on the other side of the cart. Maddy

crawls underneath the cart, but it isn’t stable. The front

end is smashed, and the left wheel is barely hanging on. It

could collapse and crush her.

I take a breath, reminding myself this is a dream, and

dreams can’t hurt her, then I follow her under the cart.

A woman lays on the ground with her foot caught on a

human bone—what’s left of one of the villagers. Her dress

is tattered and torn, and her face is hidden behind dirty

golden locks. But still, I know who it is. Lifa.

All at once, I’m lost in a forgotten memory.

***

EXCERPT 2 .

CHAPTER ONE

Maddy

I’m dating an angel.

Up until yesterday, I thought they didn’t exist. Now I’m falling in love with one.

Considering the insane events that have happened in the last five days—especially the last twenty-four hours—I shouldn’t be focusing on what MJ is. I am, though.

Whether or not I believed in them, angel references are everywhere. They appear in books, movies, and TV, wearing anything from white togas to trench coats. Their image has been made into figurines and appears on jewelry and even clothes. They’re a symbol of hope that billions of people all over the world have accepted. Some people pray to them daily, assured in their beliefs; others do it in times of desperation, when all hope seems lost. So many people have prayed for a miracle—prayed for proof that someone is listening.

Why then was I chosen over all of them?

I glance over at MJ lying beside me on Hiniker Bridge. He’s staring at the clouds with his head resting on his arms. It’s easy to forget what he is. His short brown hair is messy as if only his fingers have touched it, his hazel eyes suck me in no matter how far apart we are, and his smile shines brighter than high beams on the darkest night. He wears plain white shirts and dark jeans, and somehow on him they look better than a designer outfit—not that I wouldn’t mind seeing him in one. The only thing keeping him from being perfect is the silence coming from his chest.

My heart stutters, pounding out the truth I can’t ignore. MJ is dead.

He is dead and I am not.

A sigh unintentionally leaves my lips.

MJ rolls to face me. “What is it?”

I offer a weak smile. “Nothing.”

He reaches out, taking my hand. A buzzing jolt of energy—his essence—courses through my body, searching for any clues as to what upset me. He frowns, not liking whatever he found.

“No more secrets, remember?”

All morning we’ve been sharing small details of our lives, making good on the promise we made yesterday. MJ’s asked me about school, hobbies, and music. I’ve asked about places he’s traveled and what foods he’d like to try now that he can taste again. As nice as it is to have time like this—where everything is calm—we’re both deflecting.

He’s distracting me from thinking about yesterday—the worst day of my life. I’m avoiding anything even remotely related to his angelic side. But we can’t avoid it forever. At some point, we’ll have to talk about it if I want to have a true relationship with him.

Abandoned by her birth parents and ignored by her adoptive family, Maddy Page believes she is unlovable. She only allows herself to dream of falling in love. That changes when she meets MJ; handsome and kind, MJ penetrates Maddy's defenses. Maddy soon finds herself confiding in MJ like she has with no one else, revealing secrets even her closest friends don't know. He makes her feel safe--a feeling she's never experienced except in her dreams.

When Maddy witnesses MJ disappear and reappear in thin air, she realizes she might have been wrong about him. He could be dangerous--maybe even a killer. Determined to uncover the truth of who--or what--MJ is, Maddy ignores her instinct to run. But she soon realizes that getting close to MJ could cost more than a broken heart--it could cost Maddy her soul.

Laurie Wetzel has always had a passion for writing, but it wasn’t until a New Years Resolution in 2011 that she finally shared her lifelong dream of being an author with her husband. He read the very first draft of Unclaimed and gave her the words she needed to hear, “This is what you need to be doing.” Three years later the first book in the Unclaimed series was published with the second book expected to be out in 2015. Laurie lives in Mankato, MN, with her husband and two young sons. When she’s not writing, working, or spending time with her family, she’s either reading, running, or catching up on her favorite shows on Netflix. For updates on the Unclaimed series as well as other works in progress, feel free to check her out online!